<p>I agree it would be ridiculous for a 17 or 18 year old kid to make a college decision based soley on potential major. Obviously there are exceptions to this–but, as a general rule…I also think Mini is right about Ivies hurting in the grad school app process simply because the competition within the programs is just massive. The same can actually be said, these days, of competitive prep schools, as we know, as an analogy. Is one better off going to the local high school with few ivy acceptances or to choate or exeter? Once upon a time it was HADES all the way because of those relationships, but now it impacts a student’s ability to get into an Ivy, simply because so many are qualified and they can’t take everyone and have a diverse population, which is one of the aims of the post-modern American University experience. Too, even back in the dark ages when I was doing my grad work at Northwestern, the research opportunities for undergrads just didn’t exist. I think schools are more cognizant, now, of thier undergrads NEEDING research, which I don’t think they needed back then, really, but it is still a competition for who will get those spots on level which does not exist elsewhere.</p>
<p>All that said, a student should still go to the best school they can afford if they are not on an engineering path, or really strangely driven and focused in only one area.</p>